


the most wonderful time of the year

by rarmaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Christmas, Family, Gen, I'M IN LOVE WITH AQUA'S GIANT FAMILY TBH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: For Aqua, Christmas had never been about the presents. Nor was it really about the lights, or the decorations, and it certainly wasn't about snow. No, Christmas was about spending time with those who loved you. And, hey, two weeks vacation from Keyblade training was certainly an added bonus. ((Note: this has less to do with Christmas, and more to do with sappy headcanons about Aqua having a big family and Terra and Ven unquestionably being a part of it just as much as she is.))





	

**Author's Note:**

> Aqua being the baby of a giant family is honestly a really good headcanon, imo. Since she has ten siblings, [here's a cheatsheet so you can keep them and the rest of her family straight.](http://rarmaster.tumblr.com/post/168167599175/heya-while-the-big-masterpost-is-still)

Aqua was woken up that morning by a sudden weight at the end of her bed and a _wumph_ of displaced air and bedsheets. She dragged herself into consciousness, squinting through bleary eyes at Ven—of course it was Ven, if it had been Terra, she would have lost all feeling in her legs by now.

“Ven?” Aqua croaked. From the light filtering through her curtains (there wasn’t much) she figured it must have been early morning. “What is it?”

“It’s December!!” Ven sang, excitement ringing in his voice.

For the life of her, Aqua couldn’t figure out why in the worlds that mattered. “So?” she said, and then she rolled over, pulling the covers over her head. They didn’t have to be awake for at least a few more hours, and some extra sleep would be…

All the air went out of her lungs as Ven threw his weight on _her_ instead. He probably weighed barely as much as she did, but it was still quite enough to get her attention.

“ _Christmas!!_ ” he sang diligently, still with nothing but that bright tone of excitement in his voice.

Aqua groaned and threw the sheets off, smacking him in the head as she did so. He whined, but hey, that was what he _got_ for waking her up this early. She sat up and rubbed sleep out of her eyes, though it was way too cold to think about actually getting out of bed just yet.

“Ven,” Aqua sighed. “It’s another _two weeks_ before we go anywhere.”

“Yeah, I know!” Ven answered, disentangling himself from her sheets and sitting up. His hair was a mess, but he was beaming from ear to ear. “I just got so excited I couldn’t sleep!”

Aqua stared at him, disappointment forming in her, because she knew the answer before she even asked: “Did you stay up _all_ night?”

Ven looked at her, eyes wide. He laughed nervously, then scratched at the back of his neck. “What? No!” he answered, quickly avoiding eye-contact. He was lying.

“Ven…” was all Aqua could find to say, as she shook her head in disbelief.

“Oh, come on!” Ven reached over and nudged her in the shoulder. “Aren’t _you_ excited to visit the rest of your family?”

“Of _course_ I am,” Aqua told him, firmly. She’d seen Luci about a month ago, but it had been ages since she’d seen her parents, or any of the rest of her siblings. “But we still have to get through two whole weeks of training first.” She leaned in as she told him this. It was mean, to hope the severity of her tone would dampen his mood, but maybe if he left she could go back to sleep.

Ven did droop a little, but pressed on with a firm determination. “You know the Master always goes on easy on us these weeks though.”

He was right, of course. Master Eraqus knew that they always got a little bit distracted this time of year (it was hard not to, with the prospect of two weeks of vacation on the horizon).

“Soooo,” Ven drew the word out, and scooted a little closer to Aqua. “Who are you most excited to see?” At her incredulous look (which, admittedly, she had to force), he pressed: “Oh come on, none of them are here to hear you say you’re less excited to see them than the rest! You can pick one!”

“No I can’t,” Aqua argued, on habit. Ven was right, none of them would know, but she’d grown so used to fearing the wrath of nine shunted siblings that, well, old habits were hard to break. “I’m excited to see all of them.”

“You’re most excited to see Luci,” Ven said, in a teasing tone he’d most definitely, _definitely_ learned from Eric.

A heat rose to Aqua’s cheeks. He was right there, too. She and Luci had been closer than any of the rest of her siblings for as long as she could remember. “I’m excited to see everyone else, too!” she protested, and that was also the truth. It was always good to see her family. Fond memories of Linnae and Kyle arguing about who got to use the kitchen when filled her mind, as well as Luci and Marin pounding out Christmas carols on the old piano. Longing tugged in her chest and, darnit Ven, normally she could put off these feelings for at least another week! Aqua let out a huffy sigh.

“Do you think—” Ven began, but Aqua cut him off by tossing a pillow at his face. “Hey!”

“I love you, and I love my family,” Aqua said. “But right now I love sleep more. Goodnight.” She flopped back down on her remaining pillow.

“But it’s _morning!_ ”

“GoodNIGHT.”

Ven grumbled about her being no fun, but he did leave. Probably to go bug Terra.

(Unfortunately for Aqua, she spent her next hour asleep dreaming about her family, so she didn’t wake up feeling any _less_ homesick.)

 

 

✧  ✧  ✧

 

 

The tradition had started long ago, the first year Aqua had spent training with Eraqus. At the ripe young age of—well, she could never remember _how_ young, exactly, but she’d been very young. And with the Land of Departure as big and as empty as it was, homesickness set on quickly, and often. She’d spent the first year going back to her family for at least a weekend every month, and when Christmas rolled around, she asked Eraqus very nicely if she could have an entire two weeks with her family. All two weeks were needed; there was a lot of extended family to see, and it easily took that long to either gather or visit all of them.

The next year, Aqua thought (though the memories were hazy, and there could have been another year in between them), was the year Eraqus had taken in Terra. She remembered her first impression of him well. She’d been a little skeptical, and Terra had spent at least an entire day refusing to let go of his Keyblade, no matter how many times Eraqus asked. Aqua remembered avoiding him for a little while, too—because she was shy, and nervous to interact with new people.

But by the time Christmas rolled around that year, she’d warmed up to Terra enough that one day at the start of December she marched up to him and:

“I asked my parents, and they said you could come too,” she informed him, very firmly.

Terra, who’d been in the kitchen sneaking a snack (of _nuts,_ because apparently he was too weird for a decent snack like _cookies_ ) stopped with a peanut halfway to his mouth, staring at Aqua, _very_ confused.

“Wh- what?”

“ _Christmas_!” Aqua said, with a roll of her eyes, because that was _obvious_. “They said you could. And I think you should!”

Terra grimaced, slowly returning the peanut to the jar, and the jar to the back of the counter where he likely hoped Eraqus wouldn’t notice they’d been moved. “I don’t know…” he said, slowly.

“It’ll be fun!” Aqua assured him.

“Well, sure,” Terra agreed. His brow was furrowed deeply. “But like… do I have to get presents for everyone? I don’t even know what any of your brothers and sisters want, and… that’s a _lot_ of presents.”

Aqua blinked a few times.

“Presents…?”

Terra regarded her with the same confusion.

“Y… yeah…” he answered. “Isn’t that, like, a thing? When my parents were still around they used to get me a ton of gifts, and I had to get them gifts too, so…”

“ _Ohhhh._ ” Aqua thought about it a moment, and then shrugged. “I don’t think we’ve ever done that, honestly! And boy am I glad. That _would_ be a lot of gifts.” She’d probably have to get gifts not just for her siblings, but also for all her cousins, and Aqua wasn’t sure she could amass that much munny in a lifetime. She was starting to understand why maybe they’d never done this present thing before. “We still get presents from Santa, though!” she said.

Terra seemed uncertain, still, so Aqua folded her arms across her chest and gave him a very firm look, like she’d seen her oldest sister Raine do.

“Come on, you’ll like it,” she told him. “And my parents said the Master could come too, and you don’t wanna stay here all _alone_ , do you?”

“Okay, okay!” Terra relented. “I’ll come.”

Eraqus didn’t actually join them, even though Aqua had _insisted_. But Terra enjoyed it a lot, which was enough. Of course he enjoyed it! Two whole weeks off from Keyblade training was the best Christmas gift, honestly. So was getting to see her family again, and watching Terra get along with her brothers.

And, actually, if Aqua remembered correctly, Eraqus _had_ shown up that year (or maybe it had been the year after?), at least for Christmas Day. Aqua figured he’d gotten a letter personally from her parents, in hindsight. He continued coming on Christmas Day in the years that followed, until eventually he was coming for the entire two weeks, too.

That was how the tradition started.

 

 

✧  ✧  ✧

 

 

When Aqua finally dragged herself out of bed and went to get breakfast, she found Terra and Ven both talking about how excited they were for Christmas, and for getting to visit Aqua’s family soon. They bounced questions and comments back and forth, like only family could. (“ _Maybe THIS will be the year Marin’s boyfriend finally proposes.” “Do you think Raine’s gonna be late again, or do you think she’ll just skip it entirely?” “Maaan, I can’t wait to see what Linnae makes for the Christmas cake this year!”_ ) A warmth bubbled in Aqua, grateful they were both this close to the rest of her family, but the homesickness was back times double.

“Hey, Aqua,” Terra said, when he saw her in the entrance to the kitchen/dining room combo. “You wanna take bets on whether or not Sean will finally leave us alone this year?” He gestured with his waffle-filled fork as he spoke.

Aqua shook her head and rolled her eyes. “That’ll never happen,” she said, moving to the cabinet to pull out a bowl, and some cereal. There wasn’t enough time—nor did she have the energy—to make something more complicated. “He enjoys tormenting us too much.”

Without fail, not just at every Christmas, but every time Sean saw her and Terra together, he’d ask about when they intended to make their dating official. Of course, they _weren’t_ dating, and Aqua had told her brother that more times than she cared to count. (The words “ _How many times do I have to tell you, Sean, we aren’t dating, and don’t intend on dating. Terra’s as much of a brother to me as you are.”_ rang familiarly on her tongue, and she hadn’t even laid eyes on her brother yet.)

“Bets on how long it’ll take him to ask, then?” Terra asked. “My bet’s he’ll ask us first day.”

“First week, maybe,” Aqua argued. The first chance he got when there were _a lot_ of people around. “But not first day.” She dumped milk into her bowl, and went to join the boys at the table.

“My bet is he won’t at all this year,” Ven chimed in, grinning brightly. Whatever he’d been eating for breakfast, he’d long finished it. Only crumbs remained on his plate.

“Always the optimist,” Aqua sighed.

Ven’s chipper reply was simply: “Someone’s gotta be!”

 

 

✧  ✧  ✧

 

 

The only time they’d ever skipped Christmas was the year Ven came to them. He’d still been sleeping by the time Christmas came around, and neither Aqua nor Terra had wanted to leave him, lest he wake up while they were gone. They had Christmas at the Land of Departure that year, and it wasn’t anywhere near the same, but… that was alright.

Aqua and Terra were both sitting in Ventus’s room, Aqua with a mug of pleasantly warm hot chocolate held between her hands. Terra had a mug of tea, himself. They didn’t really say anything, just sat and watched Ventus as if they expected him to wake up any second. It… wasn’t the _best_ thing to be doing with their free time, admittedly, but it was hard to do anything else.

(This was probably why Eraqus hadn’t even let them have these two weeks off from training. If they’d had no other responsibilities, they might never have left Ventus’s side.)

Aqua took a sip of her hot chocolate, and then from below, she heard Master Eraqus’s voice call:

“Aqua, Terra! It seems you two have guests!”

Aqua nearly spilled her hot chocolate in her surprise.

“Guests?”

Terra shrugged, getting to his feet. “It’s probably some of your family.”

Aqua supposed that _would_ make the most sense. She got to her feet, too, but hesitated before she went anywhere, sending a look at Ventus. Terra must have sensed what she was thinking, because he caught her by the upper arm and pulled her towards the door.

“He’ll be alright,” Terra said.

“But if he wakes up…”

Terra met her eyes, and after a stern look, Aqua sighed. She knew there was no good in waiting in here with bated breath, but she still worried about what would happen if he woke up when no one was there to greet him. She let Terra pull her out of the room, spirits brightened a little bit at the prospect of seeing whoever had come to wish them an early Christmas.

(They stopped in the kitchen for a second before heading to the Entrance Hall, so Aqua could set down her mug. Maybe she would be able to return to it before it got cold, but even if not, at least it was here in the kitchen, unlike Terra’s mug of tea, which he’d left in Ventus’s room.)

Aqua was _very_ pleasantly surprised to find that it was Luci and Eric who’d come to visit. Out of all of her siblings, she was probably the closest to the two of them, seeing as they were all within years of each other. Well, them and Tam, but clearly Tam wasn’t here. She must have been busy.

“Heeyyy, there’s my favorite little sister!” Eric called, when he saw Aqua making her way down the stairs to greet them.

Aqua rolled her eyes. “I’m the only one younger than you, Eric,” she sighed.

Eric grinned broadly. “That’s why you’re my favorite!” he sang.

Aqua deliberately walked right past him to hug Luci first, just for that. Luci was holding a box (so was Eric, actually) so the hug was awkward and one-armed, but warm nonetheless.

“Sorry you guys couldn’t make it this year,” Luci said.

“No, it’s okay,” Aqua answered, firmly. “It was our decision to stay here.”

“Thanks for coming,” Terra said, behind her, and Aqua belatedly relayed her own thanks.

“Oh, no problem!” Luci said, brightly.

“Yeah, we had to deliver these, anyway,” Eric added, and Luci elbowed him.

“Geeze, way to make it sound like you _didn’t_ want to come!”

“Sorry.”

“What are those?” Aqua asked, eyeing the boxes. She knew they weren’t presents, but couldn’t fathom what they’d be otherwise. Well… wait, actually—she realized, as she sniffed experimentally—that smelled like…

“One of Linnae’s tests, for the Christmas cake,” Luci said, hefting her box.

“And a cake for Terra, since he hates fruit.” Eric hefted his box.

“I do not,” Terra protested, but Luci was speaking over him already.

“Figured even if you have to miss out on most of the fun, we couldn’t have you missing out on the _best_ part of Christmas.” Luci smiled widely, and then shrugged. “Plus, Linnae insisted.”

“I can’t believe you have my sister baking you _entire cakes,_ ” Aqua said to Terra, voice quiet, caught between bewilderment and awe. She took the box from Eric and cracked it open and, oh sure enough, the thing had more nuts than it seemed to have anything else.

“Hey, it’s not like I _asked_!” Terra argued.

“Well if you’d eat sweet stuff, like a normal person,” Luci teased, and Terra ducked his head down.

“It’s just… _too_ sweet,” he mumbled, rubbing at his neck. “But it’s not like I can ask her to redo her entire recipe just for my sake. Besides, then you’d all just hate me more than you already do.”

“Aw, we don’t hate you Terra!” Eric laughed, coming over to elbow Terra in the ribs.

“We just think you’re _suuuuper_ weird,” Luci said, leaning his direction and grinning brightly.

Terra sighed and half-heartedly swiped Eric away, which Eric dodged easily, as much because Terra wasn’t trying as Eric was a head shorter than him.

“This has so much nuts…” Aqua whispered, still in shock over Terra’s cake.

“Looks pretty good, actually,” Terra said, as he leaned over her shoulder to get a look. His mood seemed to be improving, from the sounds of it. “Tell Linnae thanks.”

“We will!” Eric and Luci chimed in unison. Luci headed towards the stairs.

“Come on, let’s move to the kitchen or something,” she said. “Then we can dig into these cakes and catch you guys up on all the fun family gossip this year, since you’re missing out on that too.”

Aqua closed the lid on Terra’s cake, moving after Luci herself. Eric came up beside her.

“Hey, how’s that boy doing?” he asked, conversationally. “The one you’re missing Christmas for, you know. What was his name, again? Ven… something.”

“Ventus,” Aqua finished. The floaty feeling she’d had at seeing her siblings vanished, and her stomach felt like lead.

“Can we see him?” Eric asked.

“Maybe later,” Terra said, before Aqua could even open her mouth. “I’m _dying_ to hear the latest family gossip!”

Luci let out a laugh of glee. “He cares more about the family gossip then you do, Aqua!” she called down the stairs. “Guess he really is one of the family!”

“C’mon, Luce!” Eric called back up. “He’s been one for years!”

This made Aqua feel warm again.

 

 

✧  ✧  ✧

 

The next two weeks couldn’t seem to go fast enough. Eraqus was patient, just as he always was, but it was still hard. Ven didn’t make it any easier, either. Somehow, even though they were _Aqua’s_ family (never mind that Ven and Terra and Eraqus were _also_ family) Ven was more excited to see them than even she was.

When she commented on this one day, he just smiled widely, joy burning in his eyes.

“I just love your family _so much_ ,” he told her passionately. “They’re all so nice, and fun to be around, and they make this the absolute best time of the year!”

If Aqua was off-form for the rest of the day, it was only because she’d remember this and have such a fondness and joy fill her chest that she would have to stop and take a second to compose herself lest she be overwhelmed by it.  

The first time they’d introduced Ven to the tradition, they’d done Christmas a little early, with only the immediate family, so they wouldn’t overwhelm him. It’d still been a little hectic, since there were still somewhere over ten of them, but he’d taken well to it. So next year they went as usual, and introduced him to the extended family. He fell in love quickly. But then again, it was Ven, and he seemed to have nothing but joy and wonder in his heart. Aqua hoped that never changed.

Finally, _finally_ though, it was time to go.

“Are you three ready?” Eraqus asked, as they gathered outside the castle for the trip. He was wearing a Christmas sweater, and Aqua wasn’t sure if she should smile or hide her eyes from embarrassment. Even though she’d seen him in sweaters before, it was still always a little strange to see him anything that wasn’t his traditional robes.

Terra, meanwhile, stifled snorts of laughter, prompting Aqua to whack him and chide him for teasing their Master. Eraqus pretended not to notice. Ven was all grins and a bouncing ball of excitement, wearing a sweater that matched Eraqus’s perfectly.

“I’m ready! I’m ready!” he sang.

“Then let us go,” Eraqus said.

They arrived on the same hill they always did, and nostalgia filled Aqua to the brim as she looked down on the village she’d grown up in. It was significantly less cold in Aqua’s homeworld than it was in Land of Departure—it always was—and there was no snow. There never had been. But lights were strung up all around the town, and even in the brightness of day it looked beautiful.

Per usual, the walk to Aqua’s house took twice as long as it needed to. Greetings were called out after them as they walked, from townsfolk who recognized them to members of Aqua’s extended family. (The village was at least two-thirds made of Aqua’s relatives, so there were a lot of people who recognized them.) Ven also kept stopping them so he could gape at decorations. He couldn’t seem to get enough of them.

“Come on, Ven,” Terra laughed, tugging him away from a window by the arm. “You’re going to make us late!”

“Just a sec,” Ven whined, shaking Terra’s hand off. But then he perked up. “Oh…!”

Aqua smelled it too, and she stopped where she stood, taking a moment to breathe it in and relish the sweet sweet scent of baking bread. Her head swiveled, until she spotted it—there! Her father’s bakery. They’d come at it from a different angle than they usually did. Now that they saw it, they all gravitated towards it.

“Can we stop in?” Ven pleaded, looking up at Aqua.

Normally, Aqua would have said yes. But… “Mm, it looks like he’s really busy,” she said, a little disappointed herself. “Come on.”

Ven pouted, but he didn’t protest. Aqua’s house was attached to the backside of the bakery, so from here all they had to do was duck between the bakery and the building next to it.

“HEY, THERE’S MY FAVORITE LITTLEST SISTER,” Eric called, just two seconds after Aqua opened the door to let herself and Ven and Terra and Eraqus in.

“Eric, really,” Aqua sighed.

Her house was large, but already filled with people, unsurprising given the time of year. Well, that and Eric’s call had easily gotten everyone’s attention, and they all flocked to the front hallway to greet the youngest members of the family.

“Aqua!!” came Luci’s joyful voice, but it was quickly drowned out by the rest of her siblings in a sea of: “What was that? Is our baby sister home?” “Our baby sister!” “You may have gotten taller, Aqua, but you’re still the baby.” “So _how’s_ the baby of the family doing—”

There was nothing Aqua could do but stand there and take it, because without fail, every year, _every year,_ they’d all do this to her. She wondered if it would be different, if she lived here instead of elsewhere for the majority of the year.

Terra clapped her on the shoulder, trying to be sympathetic. (Except, she _saw_ him laughing.) Eraqus had slipped away—probably to find a place to sit—and Marin had pulled Ven off, fawning over how tall he’d gotten. Aqua forced a groan and tried not to smile too much.

(Even with all the teasing, it was good to be home.)


End file.
